Geelong’s major employers’ parental leave schemes revealed

As young families flock to Geelong, the city’s biggest employers are ramping up offerings for young parents. SEE THE LIST

Bellarine Family Lawyers’ Angela Couch with her daughters. Picture: Brad Fleet

Between juggling three children under three and her own legal practice, Angela Couch admits she can feel a little like an “octopus”.

The Batesford mum told the Geelong Advertiser she was itching to return to work after taking 12 months off after the birth of her youngest child.

“You can feel like a bit of an octopus with everything you’re juggling, but I think most parents feel that way,” she said.

Ms Couch, whose twin daughters spent six weeks in the NICU, said the leave was invaluable for her family.

“They were too vulnerable to be going to places like daycare and too little for them to not be around their mum or dad,” she said.

“Our leave was great for our family, but at the same time I was also looking forward to transitioning back to work.”

Ms Couch, who started up her own family law practice after the birth of her twins, is just one of an increasing number of young parents now calling the Geelong region home.

With the city expected to hit 500,000 residents by 2047 – including a sizeable chunk of millennial parents- a raft of major Geelong employers have started negotiating more generous leave entitlements for families.

Viva Energy announced last month it would extend its parental leave scheme to 26 weeks, and also a number of flexibility, IVF leave and pregnancy loss entitlements.

Under its new enterprise agreement, Deakin University could soon offer full birth leave entitlements for pregnancy loss or stillbirth after 20 weeks.

Other Geelong organisations like TAC and Borough of Queenscliffe offer employees paid lactation breaks, while Barwon Health offers facilities for nursing mothers.

Acting City of Greater Geelong chief executive Kaarina Phyland said supporting families was vital to attracting good talent to the organisation.

“We continue to promote flexibility in a competitive employment market because we want to be an employer of choice and because it benefits the health and wellbeing of our employees,” she said.

Under laws to be set in motion this year, the federal government will offer primary carers who meet an income test 18 weeks paid leave.

Under the same federal scheme, “dad and partner pay” offers up to two weeks paid leave.

Deakin University Business school’s Dr Andrea North-Samardzic said Australia lagged behind other Commonwealth nations like Canada, the UK and New Zealand when it came to offering paid parental leave.

“New Zealand, our cousin across the pond, recently outstripped us and now offers 26 weeks paid leave,” she said.

Angela Couch with her daughter Penelope. Picture: Brad Fleet

“Australia punched above them in this area 10 years ago.”

Other countries like Bulgaria and Estonia offered a year of more paid leave.

In Sweden, new parents and carers can take up to 60 weeks of paid leave at half-pay.

“People who give birth need time to recover from what can be a very arduous, and in some cases life threatening process,” Dr North-Samardzic said.

“Even with families who are adopting, the process of looking after a brand new human should not be understated.”

Epworth Geelong

Epworth Healthcare currently provides 10 weeks primary care leave and three weeks secondary care leave. Under a new enterprise agreement being negotiated, this could increase to 12 and four weeks respectively.

GeelongPort

Last year GeelongPort increased primary carers leave from 12 to 16 weeks at full pay, with secondary carers entitled to four weeks at full pay. Flexible working arrangements and paid keep-in-touch days are also offered for expecting parents and carers.

TAC

Under the organisation’s Enterprise Agreement, primary and secondary carers are entitled to 15 leave and four weeks leave respectively. Permanent leave was also increased from 14 weeks to 16 weeks.

The organisation also offers two days paid pre-adoption leave, IVF leave, paid lactation breaks, kinship and foster care leave and six weeks paid surrogacy leave.

Viva Energy

Viva Energy this year announced it would extend parental leave for 14 weeks to 26 weeks for new parents. The new scheme also introduced a number of other entitlements including leave flexibility, paid keep-in-touch days and support for people undergoing IVF and experiencing pregnancy loss.

The new scheme also committed to paying equivalent full-time superannuation to parents returning from parental leave part-time for up to five years.

St John of God Hospital

St John of God Hospital offers staff up to 10 weeks paid parental leave for primary carers, which can be extended up to 20 weeks at half pay. Secondary carers can take up to two weeks of leave. Additionally, any caregiver can take up to two years unpaid leave with the flexibility to return part-time dependent on their role.

Barwon Health

Barwon Health offers 14 weeks paid parental leave for primary carers and two weeks for secondary carers. Up to two years of unpaid leave can be accessed for primary carers.

Staff can also apply for flexible working conditions before returning to work, and have access to keep-in-touch days while on leave.

Deakin University

Deakin University offers 18 paid full leave or 36 weeks at half pay for primary carers who have been with the university for more than two years and 10 weeks paid leave for less than two years of service. It also offers 10 days of paid partner leave.

Changes under a new enterprise agreement being negotiated could include full access to birth related leave in the event of pregnancy loss or stillbirth after 20 weeks, and a new provision to apply for special leave if a person suffers pregnancy loss before 20 weeks.

Ford Australia

Ford Australia allows primary carers up to 12 weeks leave at an ordinary rate of pay, plus six weeks of $1000 per week. Secondary carers can take up to four weeks paid leave. The company also offers job sharing, flexible hours and paid virtual connect sessions for parents on leave.

City of Greater Geelong

The City of Greater Geelong offers 16 weeks primary and six weeks secondary parental leave. Additionally, the city offers adoption, IVF, surrogate, miscarriage, and bereavement leave for parents. CoGG employees can access salary-sacrificing childcare fees at a city-operated centre, flexible working arrangements and monthly RDO options.

Surf Coast Shire

Surf Coast Shire provides 16 weeks paid parental leave for primary carers and three weeks for secondary carers. A flexible working policy allows for special arrangements to support both expecting parents and those returning from parental leave.

Borough of Queenscliffe

The Borough of Queenscliffe offers 15 weeks paid parental leave, and up to 89 weeks unpaid leave. Employees may access other leave entitlements during time off, including being paid at half pay.

Special paid leave of up to a week can be accessed if a parent experiences pregnancy loss during the first 20 weeks, or up to two months after 20 weeks.

The Borough also offers 38 hours of leave pro-rata for couples seeking IVF treatments, access to breastfeeding facilities and childcare reimbursement in circumstances where employees are required to work outside normal hours.

Colac Otway Shire

Colac Otway Shire offers primary and secondary carers leave, as well as leave for adoption and permanent care. Primary careers are allowed up to 16 weeks of paid leave, with secondary carers offered four weeks. After 12 months of service, parents are entitled to a 52 weeks unpaid parental leave.

The council also offers four weeks paid leave if parents suffer a neonatal death from 20 weeks onward.

Originally published as Geelong’s major employers’ parental leave schemes revealed